The invention relates to an electrical connector for connecting electrical wires to an electrical apparatus, insulation piercing contacts being provided which are held in a contact carrier.
An electrical connector of this type is provided for a firm connection of an electrical apparatus with one or more electrical wires, this connection being, however, disconnectable again by the use of insulation piercing contacts.
From Utility Model DE 295 12 585 is known a wire connecting element in insulation piercing contact technique for connecting electrical wires, in which the wire connecting element is provided with a threaded socket and for fastening is placed in a hole of a housing and fixed with a counter nut.
Further, from DE 197 55 530 a means for relieving strain of electrical and/or optical cables is known, in which the insulation piercing contacts are firmly connected with a housing in a corresponding structure in which is screwed a cable guiding piece provided for insulation piercing contacts and a wire guiding piece with a sleeve nut.
It is a disadvantage in these known designs of such electrical connectors that these are inserted in a housing into holes which are provided to this end and that they have to be fastened with a sleeve nut. Further, the electrical wires might be twisted upon screwing an already preassembled connector, provided with electrical wires, into a housing configured with a threaded portion, so that the electrical connections would be interrupted in an uncontrolled manner. In addition, the known designs have to be screwed by hand and/or tool during assembly.
The invention is thus based on the object to develop an electrical connector of the type initially mentioned to the effect that a simple assembly is possible.
To this end according to the invention an electrical connector for connecting electrical wires to an electrical apparatus is provided, consisting of a receiving socket, a contact carrier arranged in the receiving socket, insulation piercing contacts which are held in the contact carrier, and arresting means by means of which the contact carrier is held in the receiving socket. This design allows to pre-equip the contact carrier with the piercing contacts and then to push it into the receiving socket where it latches in place simply automatically by means of the arresting means. The contact carrier can be placed in the receiving socket in an automated manner or by hand.
The arresting means may be configured as knob-shaped cams in the receiving socket which engage into an annular groove in the contact carrier. These arresting means can be produced in a simple manner from plastic pieces.
As an alternative, the arresting means may consist of a recess in the contact carrier and a fastening pin which can be inserted into the recess. The fastening pin may be provided on a plate-shaped fastening element which can be inserted into a slot between two parallel and spaced walls of a housing of the electrical apparatus, the fastening pin engaging into the recess in the contact carrier and the fastening element being integrally with a cover of the electrical apparatus. In this way the contact carrier is automatically fastened in the receiving socket when the housing of the electrical apparatus is closed.
Preferably, the insulation piercing contacts are held in receiving slots in the contact carrier by means of detent tabs. This makes it possible to simply push the insulation piercing contacts into the contact carrier, with the result that they automatically latch in place there.
According to the preferred embodiment it is provided that the insulation piercing contacts are provided with plug connectors on their equipment side, so that cable lugs can be attached or the connecting terminals can be plugged into holes or contact springs of a printed circuit board without the need of expensive connection work such as soldering etc. In this embodiment assembling expenditure for the overall electrical connection is minimized. The insulation piercing contacts are pushed into the contact carrier in which they automatically latch in place. The contact carrier equipped with the insulation piercing contacts is pushed into the receiving socket in which it automatically latches in place. Upon being pushed in the contact carrier, the connecting terminals of the insulation piercing contacts are automatically pushed into the contact elements, associated with them, in the electrical apparatus, for instance into the contact springs. Thus, no soldering work or expensive packaging work is required; the electrical connection may even be done on the spot without special tools.
The invention also relates to a contact carrier with insulation piercing contacts which are held in the contact carrier, and arresting means with which the contact carrier can be held in a receiving socket, the insulation piercing contacts being provided with a connecting terminal by means of which they can be plugged in a cable lug or a contact spring. The invention further relates to an electrical apparatus comprising an electrical connector as described above.
The invention is now described by means of two preferred embodiments illustrated in the attached drawings in which: